At 99 years, Bauchi’s Challenge Bookshop waxes on

The Challenge Bookshop was established ninety-nine years ago in Nigeria by a missionary body called The Sudan Interior Mission, (SIM), which co-ordinates the propagation of Christianity through provision of adequate literature. The bookshop became popular in many major cities in the country and some still exist up till now. Under SIM, the bookshop ran its […]

The Challenge Bookshop was established ninety-nine years ago in Nigeria by a missionary body called The Sudan Interior Mission, (SIM), which co-ordinates the propagation of Christianity through provision of adequate literature.
The bookshop became popular in many major cities in the country and some still exist up till now.
Under SIM, the bookshop ran its activities, until much later when the Evangelical Church of West Africa, now Evangelical Church Winning All, (ECWA), took over its affairs. The bookshop has since played a prominent role in providing needed literature in various fields to schools and personal libraries.
However, with the advancement in printing technology, electronic books and social media, bookshops have undergone rapid transformations to enable them cope.
At a Challenge bookshop located in Bauchi metropolis, the sales representative, Mr. Monday Ishaya said ECWA production, the publishing arm of ECWA Church, currently runs the affairs of the bookstore. Transferred from the Jos branch of the organisation in 2002, he explained that apart from the sale of books, stationeries and other literature, the place had sold electronics in the past.
The shift in the choice of reading materials has changed how bookshops stock their shelves. Unlike in the past when school books, storybooks and religious literature dominated the shelves of many, the trend has now changed with youths and adults now going for inspirational books and those on marriage and relationships.
“We have stopped selling schoolbooks because new ones, especially children’s books, are always being replaced. This means we end up having hundreds of unsold books on our shelves,” Mr. Ishaya said.
Most of the books on the shelves of Challenge Bookshops are imported from other countries.
According to the sales representative, foreign or imported books account for about 95 per cent of the entire stock, which reflects the situation of most bookstores in the country. He added that, out of every ten books on the shelves, about seven are written by foreign authors.
Also, the most dominant titles are those patronised by adults, the elderly, clerics and seminary students, written by popular foreign authors and some Nigerian authors.
Some of them include self-help books like ‘Power of Positive Thinking’ written by Norman Vincent Pearle and ‘Be Your Own Boss’ by John C. David, while titles on marriage and relationships are: ‘Making Marriage Work’ by Joyce Meyer, ‘Love, Sex And Lasting Relationships’ by Chipingram and ‘The Seven Stages Of Marriage’ by Sari Harrar and Rita De Maria.
The few books written by Nigerian authors are mostly Christian literature written by some renowned pastors and others such as ‘The Rich Civil Servant’ written by Moses Kurungtoe Andreas, ‘Guidelines To Effective Home Management and Family Health’ by Patience Sopuru, ‘Israeli-Palestinian Arab Relations’ by John C. Nwaji.
Others ar: ‘Forgiveness from the Heart’ by Mipo E. Dadang, ‘Transformational Conflict Management and Resolution’ by Rev. Dr. Bauta D. Motly and ‘Dividents of Integrity’ by the same author. Aside these are Bibles, Bible story books and other related Christian literature as well as stationeries and gift items.
The availability of books and other materials on the internet have contributed to the decline in the patronage of bookshops. With a few clicks on a phone or computer, one can now have access to hundreds of books. Electronic libraries, online bookshops and popular selling sites like Amazon and others have now dominated the book selling world and are patronised by millions of people from all over the world. In addition, people go for free materials available on the internet, place orders to buy what they want and have it delivered to their doorsteps.
Bookstores like Challenge Bookshop are still doing things the traditional way, overstocked with old materials and lag behind in innovation.
“We know that people now read more books online than they do hard copies. We cannot compare ourselves with the developed countries. We will also adopt ways to survive as we have done in the past, but I know it will take time because a journey begins with the first step.
“Old people still come to bookshops to buy titles because they still believe in reading books and maintaining a private library or a study in their houses. The younger ones who have more access to the internet have shifted their attention to the online resources and books available and that has affected our patronage a lot,” Mr. Ishaya said.
Challenge Bookshop will soon celebrate a hundred years of operations in Nigeria, trudging on, despite challenges.